Grab a chair, kitten. Yes you - the business adventurer. So this post is going to be part information, and part experiment. I originally came across a nifty site (the SITS girls) when I read a post by Darren over at ProBlogger. Seems he had offered one hell of a deal for anyone who wanted to form a group to work through his book 31 Days to Build a Better Blog. SITS is this cool community of women bloggers who have come together to support one another by commenting on each other blogs and spreading the word of each other far and wide. Since I’m totally on board with spreading my stuff across the universe, I saddled up to the bar and ordered a drink.
Every week they have a click carnival where you can win a couple of cool prizes and the coveted position of hosting the following weeks carnival. The purpose? Spreading the wealth of information that lives on these blogs. ‘Natch.
SETTING UP THE CLICK PARTY
It looks like there’s a few game rules here namely to introduce yourself, introduce someone you met through the widget (I refuse to use the word ‘peeps’. It’s just irksome), and then to add the widget to the post so others can find someone as cool as you.
WHY I’M DOING IT
One of the reasons I’m doing this little experiment is to see IF it actually works, and HOW WELL it works. If it works well, I’ll not only have a spike in traffic and hopefully some long term readers, but I’ll have some additional material to teach you.
WHY YOU SHOULD DO IT
1. You’ll gain exposure. More exposure means more _______. Insert whatever yanks your crank – clients, rabid fans, newsletter subscribers, money.
2. You’ll expand your current circle. This is pretty important because it can become very easy to run in the same circles.
Bonus tip for today: Changing up your inner circle is actually a pretty good point to talk about. Have you ever noticed that when you visit blog A, they mention blog B. Then blog B mentions blog C. C finds A through B then blog A mentions bloc C. It reminds me of the game where you start with one word and change one letter at a time to create new words. How does one get from internet nice guy Chris Guillebeau to internet bad-girl Naomi Dunford? By following the common links of personal or professional people they have in common.
The whole point of the click carnival is to expose you to new people and new ideas. It’ll be good, I promise.
3. You have a chance to win some pretty cute prizes including the chance to have a higher level of traffic if you’re awarded the position of host the following week.
WRAPPING UP
This is my official duty part of the process – y’know, the one where I introduce myself and my new blog click buddy. Go forth and explore, my friends!
about me:
I’m on a mission to open up new income stream possibilities for
solopreneurs who are ready to systematically turn their expertise into profitable information products right now. I guide clients to successfully launch their information products as well as use Twitter and Facebook with confidence to build a solid fan base. Whether you’re seeking a one-on-one strategy session, do-it-for-me services, or collaborative work to get the mission accomplished our team is standing by ready to serve, adding value with every move we make.
about her:
Melanie Nelson is the owner of Blogging Basics 101. She’s paired up with Karen Lewis to provide a one-stop-shop for bloggers who are looking to get their blog/website set up and ready to go. From installation to useability, Melanie and Karen really seem to love doing the tech-related “stuff” that needs to be done.
If I were you, I’d start here where you can read some articles on choosing a blog platform, making your design user-friendly, and how to skip some of the newbie mistakes.
